HOPPERS Crossing was able to match it with title contenders Altona Vikings but only for fleeting periods of Saturday’s 51-point loss in the Western Region Football League division 1 at Hogans Road Reserve.
The Warriors were unable to sustain their efforts over the course of a quarter, let alone the duration of the match.
A frustrated Warriors captain Brad Murphy said it was an unhealthy trend that had crept into his side’s patterns of play this season.
“The first 10 minutes of every quarter we seem to be absolutely flying and then we tend to drop off and get a bit complacent,” Murphy said.
“We’ve shown that we can match it with the good sides and we can take a lot of confidence out of that. We’ve just got the start playing for 25 minutes a quarter and not 10.”
The Warriors made an encouraging start to the game with their physicality at the contest taking the Vikings aback. The home side, however, got no reward for effort as the straight-shooting Vikings took a somewhat flattering 21-point lead into the first break, which extended to a comfortable 29 by the half.
“We had more inside 50s, we won the contested possession and the tackles, went well at centre clearances and won every single aspect of the quarter but that’s not what wins you games of footy, it’s the scoreboard that does,” Murphy said.
The Warriors had no margin for error, staring a five-goal deficit in the face entering the third term. They constantly butchered the ball entering the forward line after half-time and that’s the last thing you want to do against a Vikings side that excels on blink-of-an-eye transition from defence to attack.
“They got us on the spread a lot,” Murphy said. “As soon as we turned the ball over, which we turned it over a fair bit going inside 50, they just ran and are obviously super fit, well structured and coached.”
Murphy admits the Warriors are a “fair way off” the top sides in the league but found a number of positives to be heartened.
One of them was full-forward Terry Knight, a new recruit from Taylors Lakes in the Essendon District Football League.
Knight booted six goals and has been the No.1 focal point, with fellow recruit Kade Carey struggling for service and still finding his feet in coach David Mitchell’s system.
“He’s been a real bright light for us in the first two games,” Murphy said.
“A beautiful kick at goal, a very good technique and never looks like he’s going to miss to be honest.
“He’s not overly big, but he leads well and marks well overhead.”
Aaron Ramsay was a prolific ball winner and Shannon Downey was fearless in his pursuit of the hard ball, but you would expect nothing less from two experienced Warriors.
Perhaps the most encouraging sign was the impact of two raw youngsters who are a short time in the game after crossing the sporting divide.
First-game forward Thomas Jehle, a former soccer goalkeeper who returned to the club
following a stint with Western Jets in the TAC Cup, did not look out of place in the forward line alongside Carey and Knight, and emerging tall Scott Greenhough, a high leaper with a basketball background, has settled in the difficult at centre half-forward and pinch-hit ruck positions.
The Warriors will be striving for a complete performance on the road against Albion on Saturday and will need it if recent history is any guide.
“The last three times we’ve played at Albion we’ve had a draw, a one-point win and a one-point loss – we always have close games against them,” Murphy said.
